On order reduction in hydrogen isotope distillation models
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
The design integration of the fuel processing system for the next generation fusion reactor plants (such as ITER and beyond) requires the enhancement of safety features related to the operation of the system. The current drive for inherent safety of hazardous chemical plants warrants the minimization of active toxic or radioactive inventories and the identification of process pathways with minimal risk of accidental or routine releases. New mathematical and numerical tools have been developed for the dynamic simulation and optimization of the safety characteristics related to tritium in all its forms in the fusion fuel processing system. The separation of hydrogen isotopes by cryogenic distillation is a key process therein, due to the importance of the separation performance for the quality of the fuel mixture and the on site inventory, the increased energy requirements for cryogenic operation, and the high order of mathematical complexity required for accurate models, able to predict the transient as well as the steady state behavior of the process. The modeling methodology described here is a part of a new dynamic simulation code that captures the inventory dynamics of all the species in the fusion fuel processing plant. The significant reduction of the computational effort and time required by this code will permit designers to easily explore a variety of design and technology options and assess their impact on the overall power plant safety.
- OSTI ID:
- 196966
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940664--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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